Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Pevely Dairy Site: After Long Fight, Why Doesn't Saint Louis University Have a Plan? (PHOTOS)

Sign that remains inside the last Pevely structure on Grand and Chouteau. Big photos below.

What's going on with the Pevely Dairy complex? Not a whole lot, it seems, much to the frustration of preservationists and other groups that fought to stop Saint Louis University from demolishing the landmark complex on South Grand Boulevard.

Several university spokespeople did not respond to Daily RFT's repeated calls for comment last week, but a recent internal report -- which a group of unhappy activists and city residents have sent our way -- reveals that the project originally slated for this site is, at the very least, delayed. For starters, there is no financing or plan, the document, on full view below, says.

"We were promised something really transformative for the area, for the neighborhood," says Jeff Vines, who advocated for the site's preservation. "And what we have right now is a pile of rubble."

This is one of the latest points of tension surrounding SLU's role as a real estate developer in the city -- and those critical of the university argue that this lack of action on a site that officials said they needed and stubbornly fought for, is a symptom of a larger problem.

"The extent of SLU's land-banking operations in the area is really pretty outstanding, which begs the question: What are they really thinking?" says Andrew Weil, executive director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis. "How much land do you really need?"

The section in question is titled "Remaining Questions" and says in part (our emphasis):

We end the year with some questions still unanswered. One of them is the fate of a much discussed new ambulatory care center. During the last year, a very large tract of land immediately north of Saint Louis University Hospital was cleared in preparation for the possible construction of a new ambulatory care center. At the time of this writing, no plans have been finalized with regard to the exact location of the building, who will occupy it, or how it might be financed. Nonetheless, this initiative remains very important to the future of SLUCare and the University Medical Group.

The quote was raised on a nextSTL.com forum and several tipsters sent it to Daily RFT saying they were upset with the lack of action here.

This latest news comes after the university purchased most of the historic site and demolished a good portion of it, despite push back from preservation activists and formal opposition from the city's preservation board.

All that remains standing now is the structure on the corner of South Grand Boulevard and Chouteau Avenue. That landmark made headlines when the 'P' in the historic Pevely sign came crashing down in October. It sparked further discontent from SLU critics -- and it's unclear where the sign is now or if it has even been preserved.

click to enlarge

Sam Levin

Pevely Dairy Complex today, view on South Grand.

The university has said that it needed this site for its planned ambulatory center -- the one referenced in the above statement. And after a long battle, the university did get permission to tear down the last remaining building if it applied for demolition permits, specifically to build the ambulatory center in question. It appears that the university has not applied for that permit -- and the permission to do so expires this month, says Michael Allen of the Preservation Research Office, who has closely followed the Pevely Dairy demolition and the university's plans for the site.

"The Pevely complex is not an intact unit anymore," Allen tells Daily RFT. "It's a fragment that lacks any context."